Mr Weasley goes shopping
by Shrikestorm
Summary: <html><head></head>Mr. Weasley enters the exciting world of rubber ducks, snow globes and escapators...</html>


The bell jangled. An odd-looking man with flaming red hair – thinning admittedly – hopped, half nervously, half excitedly into the shop. He was too well dressed to be called desperate, but it was clear to the shop-keeper that the patched cloak had seen too many winters. The shop-keeper paused to think on that train of thought, why on earth was that man wearing a _cloak?_ Why not a coat or a jacket? Cloaks hadn't been in fashion for at least 100 years. Still, custom was custom, and in this recession a poor shop-keeper was not one to turn his nose up at commerce.

"May I help you?" he asked, edging around the counter to approach the man, who had his back to him, inspecting a snow-globe.

"Yes, yes thank you," said the red haired gentleman, "what is this contraption?"

"Well… it's a snow globe…" said the shop-keeper, a trifle uncertainly. "It costs £5.99" he added hopefully, keen to make a sale.

"Ah. I see" murmured the customer, "A _snow-globe_, and what does a snow globe do, exactly?" The speaker turned to look at the shop keeper with wide grey eyes. He was an extraordinary man the shop keeper concluded, and strange, for the man carried a stick in his front pocket. He remembered when he was in love with a woman who carried a stick in her pocket, though hers was far better cared for, and they were happy for a long time until one day she vanished without a trace, no note, no…

"Sorry to disturb, but what does a snow globe do?" asked the stick-man again.

"Wh-what?" stammered the shop keeper, who was still half in his private thoughts. "Oh, right, well it isn't anything that you _do _anything with, it is more of a decorative piece."

"Like a rubber duck!" yelled the man in his ear. "I know all about rubber ducks, although I have yet to own one, do you sell rubber ducks, perchance?"

"No. We do not. The bathroom store is across the road if that is what you want." Snapped the shop keeper, who was unaccustomed to strange red haired men in cloaks with sticks yelling at him about rubber ducks. The shop keeper didn't like rubber ducks much, he saw them as a frivolity. In fact, he saw snow globes as a frivolity, but he was there to sell them, not to buy them, so as a shop keeper they were useful, and therefore all right. He snatched the snow globe out of the man's hands, not fully aware that it wasn't _in_ the man's hands, but floating a few centimetres above them, and placed it none to gently on the shelf. He also didn't notice that the snow man inside the snow globe now looked exactly like the man in front of him, down to the very last freckle.

"A store just for one room in a house?" questioned the man, who didn't receive an answer from the shop keeper, who was in fact wondering whether or not he should call for the police. "Well, I must say, that is jolly brilliant; I wish we had them in the real world."

"The _real world_?" whispered the poor shop keeper who had grown pale with all the drama.

"Yes of course, the real world" said the man like it was the most obvious thing, "My world. It wouldn't be very much good if all you muggles knew about it." "Not that I'm against muggles," he added quickly, as the man gave him a frown, "it's just that it would be very confusing and unfair on us if we were always with you, I mean, you've got ekektricity! I wish we had that. And escapators and moving stairs, we have them but it's a tad differ… oi! Where are you going? Come back!" the shop keeper had run into the back of the shop and decided that he would go home and spend the rest of the day in bed nursing a brandy. The befuddled non-muggle walked out of the shop and across the main road (completely unawares of the cars that nearly hit him, as he hadn't yet grasped the concept of traffic lights) and sat down next to a scrawny-looking teenager with messy black hair and bright green eyes who was waiting in a bus shelter.

"Not bad for a first encounter, eh Harry?" the boy looked at him and sighed,

"No, Mr. Weasley, but next time try to be less…you know…" Harry tailed off, he didn't want to upset Ron's father, but he didn't want to lie to him either. "Try to be less chatty, it frightens muggles."

"Ah, right, I see" said Mr. Weasley, "well onto the bathroom shop now, I hear they know all about rubber ducks." He stood up and walked purposely away. Harry sighed; it was going to be a long day.

"Mr. Weasley!" he called, "It's over _there_! The other way!"


End file.
